Can birds use chemical cues to assess potential mates?

这项研究的目的是增加我们对配偶评估和选择中所涉及的线索的理解。动物如何以及为何选择特定个体作为配偶并避开其他个体是进化生物学的基本问题。然而，他们通常会做出我们无法用现有理论解释的择偶决定，而且个体之间的择偶偏好经常不一致。一种可能的解释是，动物对人类无法接受的感官信息做出反应，因此被忽视了。我认为鸟类利用化学信息可能是一个突出的例子。众所周知，鸟类有味觉，但传统的观点认为它们是microsmatic（嗅觉差），这阻碍了对这一领域的重要研究。然而，现在有令人信服的证据表明，鸟类不仅具有功能性的嗅觉系统，而且还可以检测和响应环境中的嗅觉刺激，以便找到食物，导航甚至识别同种和个体。然而，值得注意的是，鸟类是否使用化学线索来评估潜在配偶的质量和适合性（这在其他脊椎动物中很常见）从未经过实验测试。在一组全新的实验中，我将（a）调查一个人的气味特征（也就是说，组成他们体味的化学物质的独特组合）是否可以编码潜在配偶的遗传相关性信息，气味与视觉和声音线索的关系有多重要，以及基于气味的亲属识别如何发展。我还将（B）通过实验测试羽毛上鉴定出的特定挥发性化合物是否可以被雌性用来评估潜在配偶的质量。我计划使用日本鹌鹑（Coturnix japonica）作为模式物种。人们已经对它们的基本生物学有了大量的了解，最重要的是，它们具有良好的嗅觉。他们也被认为患有严重的近亲繁殖抑郁症，因此已经进化出根据遗传相关性区分潜在配偶的能力;然而，他们使用的线索尚未阐明。我将解决这些问题，结合使用的行为配偶选择分析和羽毛气味分析，使用气相色谱-质谱（GC-MS）。这是一个全新的研究领域，具有巨大的发现潜力，可以彻底改变我们对鸟类行为的理解。

The aim of this research is to increase our understanding of the cues involved in mate assessment and selection. How and why animals choose particular individuals as mates and avoid others are fundamental questions in evolutionary biology. However, they commonly make mate-choice decisions that we can not explain with existing theory, and inconsistencies in mate preferences between individuals are frequent. One possible explanation is that animals are responding to sensory information to which humans are not receptive, and so have overlooked. I propose that the use of chemical information by birds may be a prominent example. Birds are known to have a sense of taste, but the traditional view that they are microsmatic (have a poor sense of smell) has precluded significant research into this area. However, there is now convincing evidence that birds not only have a functional olfactory system, but can also detect and respond to olfactory stimuli in their environment in order to find food, navigate and even to recognise conspecifics and individuals. Remarkably, however, whether birds use chemical cues to assess the quality and suitability of potential mates (as commonly occurs in other vertebrates) has never been tested experimentally. In an entirely novel set of experiments, I will (a) investigate whether an individual's odour profile (that is, the unique combination of chemicals that compose their body odour) can encode information on the genetic relatedness of potential mates, how important odour is in relation to visual and vocal cues and how odour-based kin recognition develops. I will also (b) experimentally test whether specific volatile compounds identified on the feathers can be used by females to assess the quality of potential mates. I plan to use Japanese quail (Coturnix japonica) as a model species. A huge amount is already known about their basic biology and, crucially, they are known to posses a good sense of smell. They are also known to suffer from severe inbreeding depression, and so have evolved the ability to discriminate between potential mates on the basis of their genetic relatedness; however, the cues they use are yet to be elucidated. I will address these questions using a combination of behavioural mate-choice assays and feather-odour analysis using gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (GC-MS). This is an entirely new field of research with enormous potential for discoveries that could revolutionise our understanding of avian behaviour.